When Should You Plant Fall Food Plots?
We are right in the middle of food plot season, and one of the questions I hear people ask is, "When should I plant my fall plots?" The answer depends on several factors, but this is how I think about it.
This article is geared more toward the hunter who has the flexibility to plant when conditions are right and lives close enough to monitor their property. If you live several hours away and only have one opportunity to plant, I'll touch on that as well.
The first question I would ask is this...
What are you trying to accomplish?
If your number one goal is killing a specific mature buck, don't just think about what to plant. Think about when that buck historically uses your property.
If you've hunted the farm for several years and have annual trail camera history, look at the calendar.
Does your target buck consistently show up around October 1? October 10? Thanksgiving?
That matters.
If your buck historically spends the first two weeks of October on your farm, I would plant something that is at its peak palatability during that window. Oats, forage peas, radishes, and similar annuals are incredibly attractive early in the season. Here in the Corn Belt, planting closer to the end of August or around September 1 generally keeps those plants tender and highly palatable during that early October period.
Now let's flip the script.
Maybe your target buck doesn't arrive until late November or early December. If that's the case, I'd lean more heavily toward brassicas. I love that time of year because once we get around Thanksgiving, mature bucks often settle into predictable annual patterns. If history tells you that's when your opportunity comes, build your food source around that timeframe.
For most of us, though, we're planting a larger destination plot that we want deer using from October through the end of the season. That's where I think a blend wins.
Personally, I like Real World's Deadly Dozen or Harvest Salad (essentially Deadly Dozen without the bulbs). It seems like deer are always eating something in those mixes, allowing the plot to stay attractive throughout much of the fall and winter.
Now let's talk planting dates.
I know many respected habitat managers recommend planting around Labor Day throughout much of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and the central Midwest. I completely understand the reasoning. If everything goes perfectly, those plots are incredibly fresh and tender right around the October opener, making them exceptionally attractive.
The problem is...
I've been burned more than once.
I've planted around Labor Day, caught just enough rain to germinate the seed, and then watched three weeks of dry weather turn what should have been a lush food plot into little more than bare dirt. I've also had years where the plants barely established before an early frost slowed everything down.
So I started asking myself a different question.
Is it better to have the perfect planting date...or to actually have a successful food plot?
Today, I begin watching the forecast around August 5th.
If I see a good soaking rain between August 5th and August 15th, I'm usually planting. I'd rather sacrifice a little early-season palatability than risk having very little food available during the later part of the season when green forage becomes scarce.
Rain beats the calendar almost every time.
In a perfect world, I'd actually stagger my planting dates.
If I were designing a property specifically for one target buck, I'd build a small kill plot planted for the exact window when I expect that buck to be there. Then I'd have another larger annual blend planted slightly earlier as my insurance policy.
If everything works perfectly, the kill plot becomes the primary attraction.
If it doesn't, I still have plenty of tonnage and quality forage carrying deer through the rest of the season.
For hunters with smaller properties whose goal is simply attracting as many deer as possible, I think the blend becomes even more important. I'd lean toward planting a little earlier to ensure plenty of growth. Deer will absolutely continue using those plots even if they aren't at their absolute peak tenderness.
That said, if I already had a larger annual blend established, I actually do like coming back around Labor Day and planting a smaller kill plot. Those later planting dates can create incredibly tender growth right around the opener while your larger destination plot continues serving as your insurance policy throughout the season. I don't think those two ideas compete with each other—I think they complement each other.
One final thought...
If you're planting around Labor Day and building a primarily green plot, don't overlook adding soybeans.
I've watched deer walk through an entire plot just to feed on fresh soybean growth. Five years ago, I killed my second-largest buck doing just that. That season I spent a total of only about 2½ hours in the stand before punching my tag. He walked directly to the freshly emerging soybeans. They'll continue drawing deer until frost and can be an outstanding addition to almost any annual blend.
My Recommendation
Plant for your goals, not someone else's.
If you're chasing a specific buck, study when he historically uses your property and build your food source around his calendar, not yours.
If you're simply trying to hold deer throughout the season, plant a diverse blend that offers something attractive from October through winter.
And if you're fortunate enough to live close to your farm, I'd pay less attention to the calendar and more attention to the weather forecast.
After getting burned more than once waiting until Labor Day, I'd much rather catch a good soaking rain between August 5th and August 15th than gamble on the "perfect" planting date.
Sometimes the best food plot isn't the one that's theoretically the most palatable.
It's the one that actually grows.
If you're roughly the latitude of Indianapolis, here's the general timeline I like to follow.
Straight Brassicas
July 28th – August 9th
Plants are maturing right around the beginning of hunting season.
Gives brassicas plenty of time to develop large bulbs and maximize tonnage.
Provides enough growing time before our average first frost (typically October 10th-20th).
Could you plant earlier? Sure. But much before late July, brassicas can become overly mature and stemmy. Wait much past August 20th, and you begin sacrificing bulb size and overall forage production.
One thing that's often misunderstood is that brassicas don't necessarily need a frost to become attractive. They benefit from cool nights, shortening days, and enough time to mature beforehand. The cold frost certainly will fast forward the sugar content of the bulb.
Annual Blends (Harvest Salad, Deadly Dozen, etc.)
Most blends contain forage oats, winter wheat, cereal rye, peas, radishes, and brassicas. Each species has a slightly different ideal planting date, but if I had to circle one date on the calendar, it would probably be August 15th.
That said, I wouldn't plant on August 8th into dry, dusty soil if the alternative was planting on August 22nd just ahead of an inch of rain.
I also don't want this article to come across as if I'm against later planting dates, because I'm not.
In fact, some of the best food plots I've ever had were planted in September by overseeding standing soybean fields after the foliage had dropped. One particular year we had a record wet September. I broadcast an annual blend into the standing beans, the farmer harvested them a short time later, and what was left was a lush green carpet that carried deer the rest of the season. It was one of the best plots I've ever hunted.
Those years absolutely happen.
They're just not the years I'm willing to bet on.
Again...
Rain beats the calendar.
Generally speaking, I like annual blends planted somewhere between August 5th and August 15th, depending on the forecast.
If you're planting mostly cereal grains like wheat and rye, I'd lean a little later—roughly August 20th through the first week of September and even later at times.
How I'd Plant My Own Farm
If I were designing a property today, this would probably be my approach:
Small kill plots: Annual Blends ( such as Harvest Salad or Broadside) planted around August 15th, give or take a few days depending on the weather.
Large destination plots: Brassica-heavy blends planted between late July and roughly August 7th or 8th to maximize tonnage and late-season attraction.
Established annual blend already growing? I'd absolutely consider coming back around Labor Day and planting a fresh, highly palatable kill plot (cereals, oats, soybeans even) to hunt over during the early season.
Whenever possible: Time the planting just ahead of a quality rain rather than forcing yourself to stick to a specific calendar date.
Like most things in deer hunting, I don't think there's one date that's right for everyone.
The best planting date depends on your goals, your property, your target buck, and most importantly, the weather. Think beyond the calendar, and you'll start making decisions that fit your farm instead of following a rule that was made for someone else's.
At the end of the day, the goal isn't to plant on the "perfect" date.
The goal is to have a food plot that helps you kill the deer you're actually hunting.